Page 87 of Malice
My journal fell forgotten from my fingers. “What do you mean Lucifer is mucking about in Merri’s mind?” My eyessnapped to the redhead in question, peeking guiltily around Grim’s side. “Did you forget everything I’ve taught you?”
“She didn’t even know it was him. He’s been playing in her dreams for weeks.”
Merri’s guilt vanished and was replaced by irritation as she crossed her arms under her ample chest. “She is right here and would appreciate not being talked over.”
Grim twisted his body to the side and waved an arm as if gesturing for her to go on ahead.
I couldn’t help but raise a brow as the bastard invited her to entermybedroom. Not that I’d have stopped her, but it wasn’t exactly his place, was it? It wasn’t just my room; it was my bloody château. Where did he get off playing Lord of the Manor?
“Grim is right. I didn’t know it was happening. I thought he was just a dream lover my brain made up to help me cope with loneliness.”
The way my whole body clenched at the word lover had to have been obvious. There was no disguising the reaction. I saw the same echoed in Grim’s countenance, though it was much more subtle. We were past the point of not caring who she wanted, fictional or otherwise.
Merri definitely clocked my response, but if I was expecting some sort of remorse on her part, I was hugely disappointed. She flung her hands up, voice raising to nearly a shout, “It was adream,Malice. You cannot possibly be mad at me for a dream!”
“I sure as hell can when it’s one ofyourdreams.”
“What does that mean? I don’t go around policing your dreams. What gives you the right to have opinions about mine?”
“The difference, hellcat, is that you are a succubus, and the dream realm is your fucking playground. You get a choice in what happens in your dreams, and you chose to flirt with another man.”
“Not just a man,” Grim interjected. “The devil himself.”
“Oh, bite me,” Merri muttered.
“Careful, wildflower.”
“Or what? You’ll do exactly that? Doubtful. That’s big talk for someone who can’t even touch me.”
“He can’t, but I can. And I’ll do a whole lot more than bite you.”
The pulse of arousal that hit the room was wholly out of place for the simmering rage and fear Grim and I were doing very little to suppress.
“Sit down, Merri, and control yourself. Now is not the time for any of us to drown in lust. We can save that for later.” I softened my voice on the last, needing her to know I would give her exactly what she wanted once we dealt with the crisis at hand.
I could sense the war taking place within her. She was like a cornered cat, ready to bite and swipe her way out of an unwanted encounter. But she also knew that Lucifer’s infiltration was not to be taken lightly. And Merri might be stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid. She may not want to be in the middle of a lecture from Grim and me, but she recognized that there was no getting out of it.
She flounced past Grim and flopped beside me on the bed. “I don’t know what you want me to say. He got in. And I’m pretty sure he’ll do it again, because I have absolutely no idea how I’m supposed to keep him out.”
“So that’s it? You’re just going to roll over and accept it? I thought you were made of stronger stuff than that.”
The way she looked at me, as though I’d dealt her the most vile insult known to man, had me fighting a smirk. Bingo.
“No. I’m not accepting anything. But I don’t know what to do.”
I sat up, taking her by the hand and tugging until she was facing me. “Let me help with that.”
“How?”
“Let me in. I want to see what I can find in those fragments of your dreams that are still in your mind.”
Taking a long, slow breath, she nodded before locking eyes with me. “You might see something you don’t like.”
“I’m positive that will be the case.”
“Great.” The deadpan delivery didn’t go unnoticed.
“Get on with it, you two. We need to see how far this has gone,” Grim rumbled, taking a seat in the armchair nearest the fireplace.
